Stalking complaint filed against McAfee in Oregon

STEVEN DUBOISNovember 26, 2013

PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) — Anti-virus software entrepreneur John McAfee has been evicted from his Oregon apartment and hit with a civil stalking complaint.

McAfee, 68, arrived in the Pacific Northwest last winter after fleeing the Central American nation of Belize, where authorities sought to question him in the fatal shooting of a U.S. expatriate who lived near McAfee’s home. He has denied any involvement.

McAfee moved into a high-end apartment building in southeast Portland. The stalking complaint was filed by Connor Hyde, a property manager with the Riverstone Residential Group.

Hyde no longer works at the location, said Crystal Pierce, senior property manager at The 20 on Hawthorne. She said the company does not comment on legal matters.

Hyde’s court filing, obtained by The Oregonian, says McAfee sent threatening emails and has access to weapons and armed associates from a motorcycle club.

The British native said in a phone interview Monday that he moved to Montreal two months ago and just learned of his eviction. He said he had issues with building management over “willful lapses of security” but was not forced to leave.

“I’ve never been evicted from anything,” he said.

McAfee said he had a “severe problem” with Hyde but never threatened him with anything except lawsuits.

“He gave keys out to all of his friends, and friends of friends,” he said. “People were partying in vacant condos. It’s turned into a nightmare ever since the new owners purchased the building four months ago.”

Judge Steven Evans granted a temporary protective order against McAfee and scheduled a Jan. 3 hearing.

McAfee said he does not plan to attend the January hearing. He said the protective order is inconsequential because he’s no longer living in Oregon.

McAfee has led an eccentric life since he sold his stake in the software company named after him in the early 1990s and moved to Belize about four years ago to reduce his taxes. He has dabbled in yoga, ultralight aircraft and the production of herbal medications.

He told The New York Times in 2009 that he had lost all but $4 million of his $100 million fortune in the U.S. financial crisis. However, a story on the Gizmodo website quoted him as describing that claim as “not very accurate at all.”